Supporting pupils through the Summer

By: David Grailey

Chief Executive

Monday 19 May 2014

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The length of summer holidays in England is at the centre of an ongoing debate, with many valid points being made both for and against the holidays being reduced.

From September 2014, state schools will be given the same power as academies, voluntary-aided and free schools in England and will be able to change the length of their school year. Headteachers are amongst those who appears to be encouraging the change to the summer break to ease the pressure on teachers. The NAHT union has proposed allocating more holidays throughout the year to replace the long summer break, which is being described as “the most significant move so far towards altering school terms on a widespread scale”.

England already has amongst the shortest summer holidays in Europe, so is reducing holidays even further the answer, or could the provision of top up, enrichment qualifications provide a better solution? It’s argued that shorter holidays would improve areas such as retention of learning, as there won’t be extended periods of time where learners are out of the classroom, and therefore at risk of forgetting what they’ve learnt, not being in a routine and most certainly not being engaged.

Short enrichment qualifications, such as Learning to Learn, Exploring Enterprise and CV Writing can be used to improve learner engagement and top up their learning. Could these be qualifications that are offered to learners over the longer summer break in order to top up their knowledge and keep them in a learning environment?

The short courses found on our qualification finder with low Guided Learning Hours can therefore run alongside core delivery or within tutorials to enhance the teaching and engage the learner. If you want more advice on the qualifications we offer, please contact [email protected] or call us on 0191 239 8000.

Find out more about these qualifications.

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Authors

Lindsay Plumpton

Communications Leader
96 posts
David Grailey

Chief Executive
79 posts
Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

Policy Leader
75 posts
Esme Winch

Managing Director
35 posts
Michael Lemin

Policy and Research Manager
25 posts

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